His greatest strength, in my opinion, is his quickness and contortion to finish at the rim. This is also one of his biggest weaknesses in that he wriggles himself around contact, which leads to less trips to the line, and thus lower efficiency.
He's getting there. Over the past 18 games: 29.1 ppg 8.2 rpg 7.4 apg TS 55.5% AST/TOV: 1.8 FT: 80.2% It would be hard to get to .200 WS/48 while being on the same team as Harden considering our roster. Keep in mind there are only so many win shares to go around, and Harden get's the most of them because of his usage. Also keep in mind it's based on how many games your team wins. I don't think Westbrook could hit that number unless our win total gets to the high 50s, which would probably require the team to add a good defender.
Another W whenever Russ takes fewer than 3 3pt attempts. The Rockets are 14-2 now when this occurs. Keep on playing to your strengths Russ
If he plays like this and Harden gets back to GOAT status, they get one of those little 20 game win streaks that are so fun.
Congrats Brodie on reaching 20K points tonight and one very nasty slam. He attacks the rim like it owes him money.
I started looking at WB's game log over his career FG%, Russell is doing things he's never done. Russ turned the corner early December after going a combined 14 for 57 in two games. At that point he was shooting less than 40% on the season and most of Clutchfans, myself included, thought things would not work here for him. After that Dec 5th game Russ has been on a tear. It's been like watching an episode of Intervention. Russ was rock bottom and needed a change, and since has been playing the best basketball of his career IMO. He finished the rest of the month of Dec. shooting 46.8% from the field. January is where things got really special. He shot 52.2% for the entire month and averaged 32.5 PPG. To put this in perspective Russ had only shot over 50% in a month once in his career. He shot 50.3% in March of 2013, while averaging 25.5PPG. Not only was January Russ's best shooting month of his career, but the 32.5PPG he averaged is more than he's ever averaged in a season for his career If Russ can keep this up, and we start winning more, he should get some MVP consideration. He won't win because of the slow start, but his 2nd half of the 2019-2020 season will be among the best in the league. It's really special what he is doing right now and nobody can say they saw this coming. If James wasn't in the worst slump of his Rocket tenure, we could be on a massive run right now. With the way Russell is playing and the teams newfound dedication to small ball, it's a pretty exciting time to be a Rockets fan. I never thought I would be on Clutchfans praising Westbrook for his shot selection and efficiency. This is crazy.
Credit MDA for maximizing Russ. He has said multiple times that he is doubling down on what team does best. And credit Morey for getting the necessary players to make this revolutionary new system work. Morey and MDA are so perfect for one another, their philosophies are so in sync. Not only did MDA trust the math, he made the math work in a way that NBA has never envisioned for a guard. Russ is used like a 6'3 Giannis now.
Yep, early December I thought we were doomed. I'm honestly excited about this small ball lineup now. I knew we weren't good enough and out of nowhere Russ completely reinvented himself. If James can get out of his slump, and Russ can keep this up, they're the best backcourt in NBA history. Hopefully the Rockets small lineup can keep hitting shots and James won't get double teamed anymore. Then again, James being doubled has played a part in Russ having an open lane to attack. Rockets aren't going to go 19 for 42 from 3 every night, so I expect some ugly losses now and then, but Morey has again found a way to increase the variance and I'm really excited. Let's hope Bruno can give us good minutes.
Great game, again a game we would not have win with CP3 and Harden. You need a guy with energy who does not let his shot effect his effort too much, switches it up, can actually attack the basket at will. That one move where he faked out AD and then got the lay-up on the other side of the basket was just amazing the way he contorts his body is just crazy!
I think it might actually be sustainable for 2 more seasons, he has to be load managed like crazy. I only seen this from the likes of DWade in prime (circus shots).
Some great info in this post thanks !! I was one of those Russ haters early on, couldn’t believe how bad a shooter Russ was and I suppose due to his knee surgery recovery his speed and hops weren’t really there fluidly yet either.’it didn’t help that Harden started off the season poorly and our D was atrocious, but once Russ stopped the stupid 3 point barrage and healed up he’s been a monster juts unbelievably athleticism and speed that really no other athletes on the other NBA teams Can compete with or slow down. Riss has changed the dynamic of our offense by how far he plays the pace sis sometimes too quick for the rest of the team even. His rebounding has been critical as well, now with this new offense the gates are wide open, that’s why I wasn’t surprised he settled in for those low % banks and jumpers early in tonight’s game, but what was killer was he realized he had to adjust and did and was the player of the game for us. Never would have won this without his athleticism and intensity. My only complaint is the bone headed turnovers that he tends to make. Yeah no question I’m proud of Russ for taking on the responsibility to adjust his game and for being willing to quite honestly be the leader on this team, because as great as Harden is he’s not always very good at leading in a manner that is about team unity and winning as a team. Not crapping on James here but it’s a fact, and Russ has in a sense taken over the reigns of being the vocal and demonstrable leader of this team, very cool to see !
